MORE THAN JUST A PICTURE BOOK – Dianne Hofmeyr

This afternoon, I realised thanks to Sue’s reminder that I hadn’t out up a blog. Blame it on my ageing brain or the fact that I have been immersed in family activities, but it is the first time I’ve ‘forgotten’ since I joined this forum… will make it a short one.

A few months ago Alexis Deacon and I were hosted by IBBY UAE at their International Conference in Sharjah.

Here we are in suitable attire in the incredible red 'fire' desert outside Sharjah. I could post about all the myriad of experiences that made it so special and the friendliness and hospitality of our hosts and all the book people there, but to keep it quick and snappy I’m going to select one picture book published by KALIMAT that crossed borders and said more about the human condition than any I’ve seen recently. As I can’t read Arabic – the book became a wordless picture book for me and I had to look extra hard at what the artist was telling me. (apologies here for the very fast scans with slightly faded colours! The book in reality is far more jewel like0

Divorce or separation is not easily handled in a picture book story. Here you have the story of a boy experiencing his world separately with each parent. He shares his time with them travelling between the two houses. The mechanics of this separation are cleverly devised by the publisher in that the book cover splits down the middle along that black line you see in the middle of the pic below and opens to either side. So the rift or the separation or alienation is highlighted and you have the boy starng out of two very different windows.

Significantly he travels with his own ‘home’ on his back in the form of a 'snail' backpack.

We know the parents are heartsore. They put pictures up of him lying in his bed and at the dining room table in their own houses when he is not there.

 

The boy is taken on a dream journey by some dolphins where he lands on a foreign shore. 

But is it a foreign shore? It looks familiar to me. In fact its looks like the same walkway he took between his parents' homes.   

He creates his own home with a roof rather like his' snail' backpack and celebrates with a party We are all left expectant and hopeful when there is a knock on the door. Will it be his parents?

As an afterthought to this blog I've added this endpage as I've had librarians emailing to ask more details of the book. The ISBN is 9789948223320. It was published in 2014 by KALIMAT. The drawing on the endpaper made me smile. It seems to emphasis how precarious the boy's life appears as he cycles across the walkway.

If picture books intrigue you, make sure you book for:

IBBY / NCRCL Annual Conference
Roehampton University
5 November 2016

Marvellous Imaginations - Extending thinking through picture books


This year’s conference explores the ways in which picture books contribute to the development of the child through critical, imaginative, empathetic, creative or other responses. A glimpse at the international world of picture books, at trends and developments in creating picture books and publishing, and research into children’s interaction with picture books

We will hear from eminent illustrators, including Laura Carlin who will be presented with her medal for winning Biennale of Illustration, Bratislava, one of the oldest international honours for children's book illustrators, and about the new Klaus Flugge Prize for the most exciting newcomer to picture book illustration.

Here is the programme for the day:

http://www.ibby.org.uk/marvellous-imaginations.php?s=648

FESTIVITIES ARE SET FOR BOLOGNA AND SHARJAH – Dianne Hofmeyr

Lili: Red Hot Hair – Wen Dee Tan 

Following hot on each other heels two of the biggest book fairs dedicated solely to children’s books are about to ignite the World of Reading. Flights are full, books are packed, dummies designed, illustrations couriered, appointments scheduled, comfy shoes packed and for those lucky enough to be invited to a few soirees, a silky shirt or twinkly top or two. 

When the Bologna Book Fair opens its doors officially on the 4th April, it will have been established as the leading children’s Book Fair for more than 50 years. On the other hand the Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival (SCRF) in the United Arab Emirates, which begins on 20th April, only started 8 years ago, but with it’s 11 days of discovery, creativity and excitement, is intent on creating a second Bologna in the Middle East.

I’m lucky enough to be going to both – to Bologna under my own steam to ease two new babies into the world – a picture book, The Glassmaker’s Daughter, illustrated by Jane Ray coming out with Frances Lincoln in 2017 and a second picture book, My Daddy’s a Silly Monkey, illustrated by Carol Thompson coming out with the brand new Otter-Barry Books, also in 2017.

At Bologna I will be browsing and soaking up the sheer energy of everything new in publishing for 3 days, (sipping a few glasses of prosecco along the way)

Whereas at Sharjah Children's Reading Festival,  IBBY UK have been invited as Guests of Honour by UAE IBBY and have included Alexis Deacon as their guest illustrator and me as their guest writer, Alexis and I will be working at full tilt in schools and on panels with more than a little back-up from Sophie Hallam of IBBY UK and Julia Eccleshare.

So this week sees me suddenly panicking. Pasting up dummies, searching through my more than 19, 950 images (I'm determined to keep it under 20, 000) in iPhoto for high resolution pics, running to the printers for business cards and generally creating more chaos than needed when I wake in the night and uninvited decide I can use my illustrator’s images to make endpapers for a Bologna dummy. What astounding cheek! But perhaps collaboration at it’s fullest.

The best part of being at a Children’s Book Fair is not just the pleasure of meeting like-minded people and feeling the buzz but having the books and illustrations take centre stage. At Bologna this year 3191 illustrators submitted work from 61 countries. Being selected offers an illustrator huge visibility as after the Fair, the exhibition tours to Japan, China and the United States. This year will see solo exhibitions of British illustrators Laura Carlin, for winning the Cover Illustration Award for this year’s Exhibition and Miasie Shearring for winning the Fundación SM International Award for Illustration last year.

At Sharjah, one of seven emirates of the United Arab Emirates and recently named the Islamic Culture Capital, there is also an annual Illustration Award. Appropriately last year’s winner was Wen Dee Tan from Malaysia for Lili: Red Hot Hair. 

ROLL ON BOLOGNA AND SHARJAH! 

Let the festivities begin! Lead on! IGNITE THE WORLD OF READING!

www.diannehofmeyr.com